Life and Times of ‘Gora’

`Gora` rebelled against the caste-based schisms in India.

New Delhi: A champion of atheism and critic of the caste system in pre-independence India -- `Gora` – an almost forgotten figure of the national movement has been revisited by an American author who seeks to establish the impact of his views on Mahatma Gandhi in a book.Gopalaraju Goparaju Ramachandra Rao, or `Gora` was a radical figure who rebelled against the caste-based schisms in Indian society, reacting by renouncing religion and propagating atheism as a way towards equality.

American musicologist and of late a chronicler of Indian history, Mark Lindley`s recently released book `The Life and Times of Gora` seeks to comprehend the reformer vis-a-vis his time and his relationship with Gandhiji. Gora, as he called himself after embracing atheism, was born in a Brahmin family in 1902. Excommunicated from the Brahmin society for renouncing religion, he made social reform his life`s motive that also brought him in touch with Gandhi. "Gora was in some ways a bridge between Gandhi and Ambedkar. Gandhi`s association with him was partly responsible for the change in his views on Ambedkar`s beliefs on caste system," says Lindley. While Ambedkar was for uprooting the caste system root and stem, Gandhi`s approach was milder; he wanted the negative aspects of caste system like untouchability to go while retaining its framework. Gandhi came in contact with Gora late in his life during 1944-45, following which his views on caste system saw a change," says Lindley. "Gora was partly responsible for making Gandhi agree with Ambedkar," says Lindley. Gora, a born Brahmin married off his daughter to a Dalit man in an arranged marriage, an act which prompted Gandhi to say: "Though there is a resemblance between your thought and practice and mine superficially, I must own that yours is far superior to mine," the author relates. It is notable that the first words Gandhi spoke to Gora were "What shall I say to a godless man?". To which, he replied, "Bapuji, I am not a godless man, I am an atheist... Godlessness is negative; it merely denies the existence of god. Atheism is positive... it is the manifestation of the feeling of freedom....". Later in his life, Gora continued his campaigns of reform, teaching untouchables in schools, even as he continued to propagate atheism. He had J P Narayan and Vinoba Bhave as his close associates. But why have our historians conveniently ignored him? Many believe his radical tendencies and atheistic bent in a country that worships millions of gods was a reason. Lindley, however, begs to differ. "This was only one reason for him getting limited space. He was one of the regional leaders of India and he largely communicated in vernacular language, another reason his reach was limited; people in Andhra Pradesh know him very well. "History writes itself top down for a long time... only later in time we see biographies of some people who did not come up on the national scene largely," he says. Lindley, a former Assistant Humanist Chaplain of Harvard, was led to write the book through his association with Gora`s son Lavanyam, has done several works on Gandhi and his associates including `Gandhi as We Have Known Him`. This book, he says, seeks to "describe Gora`s work in the context of the cultural and political forces that gave it meaning at the time" and fill that void. PTI